<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A vividly hued Picasso portrait of longtime muse and partner Dora Maar that had remained out of view for more than eight decades sold at auction on Friday for €27 million ($48.2 million).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Painted in July 1943, </span><em><span>Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar)</span></em><span> depicts Maar in a brightly colored floral hat. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maar, an artist and photographer herself, had been Picasso's partner and muse for about seven years, and the relationship was coming to a painful close. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/beloved-models-parents-grieve-violent-cruel-death/356f163c-dcf4-4a58-a95b-6fa821d92335"><strong><span>Victims of horror crash that killed young model lash out at system 'in tatters'</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The work was purchased in 1944 and had not been on the market since, remaining in the family collection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The painting was auctioned at the Drouot auction house, which called the reappearance of the work, part of Picasso's </span><em><span>Woman in a Hat</span></em><span> series, "a moment of rare significance, revealing for the first time the full radiance of a work long kept secret".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At a preview this week, Picasso specialist Agnes Sevestre-Barbé marvelled at how vivid the portrait has remained.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/picasso-portrait-of-muse-dora-maar-in-vivid-hat-long-hidden-from-view-sells-for-48-million/9ec966f3-abea-4c70-bf0b-5b7a77686433" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have a painting that is exactly as it was when it left the studio," she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It wasn't varnished, which means we have all its raw material, all of it. It's a painting where you can feel all the colors, the entire chromatic range."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a painting that speaks for itself," she added. "You just have to look at it — it's full of expression, and you can see all of Picasso's genius."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Previously, Sevestre-Barbé noted, the work had only been seen in a black-and-white photograph. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We couldn't imagine from this photo that this painting was so colorful, so amazing, really."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Auctioneer Christophe Lucien said before the sale that the work was of huge interest across the globe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's being talked about in all the world capitals with a strong art market, from the United States to Asia, and of course through all the major European markets," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>